Rep. Wild Leads Letter to Crack Down on Counterfeit COVID-19 Products to Protect Consumers’ Health and Pocketbooks

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) led a bipartisan letter alongside Rep. William Timmons (SC-04) urging the Federal Trade Commission to act more aggressively to combat the sale of fake masks and crack down on all COVID-19 related fraudulent personal protective equipment, testing, and treatments.

“Constituents have directly contacted me to express concern and confusion when they go online to purchase face masks and COVID-19 tests to protect themselves and their families,” said Rep. Susan Wild. “I, alongside my colleague Rep. Timmons, are leading this letter urging the Federal Trade Commission to redouble its efforts to protect consumers from fraudulent goods, which will better safeguard the health and finances of Americans.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, fraudulent Covid-19 products manufactured by unscrupulous individuals have made their way to American marketplaces,” Rep. William Timmons. “It is a pervasive problem, and we are urging the Federal Trade Commission to further crackdown on these fake products and protect at-risk Americans and health care workers who rely on personal protective equipment, testing materials, and treatments.”

“A consumer should be confident when purchasing health related personal protective equipment that advertised quality standards are being met,” said Jeff A. Jahre, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, PA.  Dr. Jahre, an expert in infectious diseases who has brought attention to this issue, continued: “With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a marked increase in fraudulent and counterfeit related PPE particularly masks that pose a potential life-threatening danger to the purchaser. I applaud and support Congresswoman Wild’s bipartisan initiative to engage the FTC to take action against these deceptive products.”

The letter urges the Federal Trade Commission—an independent government agency whose mission includes protecting American consumers—to increase its oversight, investigations, and enforcement actions to crack down on the sale of fraudulent and counterfeit face masks and other COVID-19 related scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s own data, there have been more than 292,000 reports of fraud during the pandemic, including $674 million in fraud-related financial losses. Cracking down on this fraud will enhance our health and safety and protect families throughout the United States. Rep. Wild and Rep. Timmons were joined in sending the letter by Reps. Cynthia Axne (IA-03), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Andre Carson (IN-07), and Don Bacon (NE-02).

For the full text of the letter, click here.

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